"I Had a Farm in Alabama"

"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills."

With this simple sentence, Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) began her book Out of Africa, the story of how an amazing farm transformed her life.  While I am no Isak Dinesen and the only book I've written about our farm was published on Shutterfly, Herb and I also had a farm that changed our lives.

We had a farm in Alabama, at the top of Sand Mountain.

We purchased the 60-acre farm and rundown house in September 2007, named it Leahaven in anticipation of what it could become, and set about turning it into a retreat for pastors and missionaries.  We rented a Bobcat and a couple of dumpsters and spent several weekends cleaning up 50 years' worth of garbage on the property.  We hired a crew of talented young men to rehabilitate the decrepit 42-year old farmhouse.  And in the process of restoring this run-down old farm, we fell in love with it.

Other than vacationing on a ranch in West Texas, we had no experience with rural life, but we soon discovered that we loved it.  

We loved the wildlife, the helpful neighbors, the quaint small-town life.  And most of all, we loved the peace and quiet and the beauty of God's creation outside our front door.

A short year after we bought Leahaven, we stumbled upon our current home, Zephyr Hill Farm, and took the leap of faith to sell our suburban Victorian house and move out to the boondocks.  For the next seven years, we continued to run both farms.

Over the years our one-dog, two-horse family grew to include three horses, a pony, a half dozen Dexter cattle, three dogs, two cats, a half dozen chickens and ducks, and most notably, three grandchildren.  It became harder and harder to get down to Leahaven, an hour away, to clean it and mow the lawn and bush hog the pastures--much less get to spend time there ourselves.

Finally we realized that we could no longer keep up with two farms, and we regretfully decided we had to sell our farm in Alabama.  On September 24, a little more than eight years after we bought it, we sold Leahaven to the son of the farmer we bought it from.  Saying goodbye to Leahaven brought plenty of tears and left us with heavy hearts for days.  Now almost two weeks later, I find myself filled more with thankfulness for all that Leahaven brought us.

Thanks to Leahaven, we've spent hours socializing, laughing and fellowshipping with friends.

Thanks to Leahaven, we have a new tradition of annual visits from far-flung family members.

Thanks to Leahaven, we've learned to handle farm equipment and tackle jobs we would never have thought of taking on.

Thanks to Leahaven, we've learned to value the cycle of the seasons, each one beautiful in its own right.

And finally, thanks to Leahaven, we have Zephyr Hill Farm, our cattle and other animals, and our life in the country today.  Without our experience of country life at Leahaven, we would never have taken the plunge into this life full-time.  How much we would have missed!  How much, how very much, we owe that farm in Alabama!

Thank you, Lord, for Leahaven.

And thank you, Leahaven, for everything.

Work Day at Leahaven (Thursday, Mar. 10)

We'd had several groups of people use the guest house at Leahaven without making a trip down there ourselves.  On the 11th, we were expecting a pastor's family in need of a retreat, and we wanted to make sure the house was clean and welcoming.  The yard was so soggy that the only thing Herb could do was pick up all the branches that came down in the high winds.

Meanwhile, I headed inside to clean.  A good thing!  The mice seemed to think Leahaven is a refuge for rodents!  I sent Herb out for some poison while I got busy cleaning.  When I finished, it was time to hang some artwork that had been in our old house.  Since we sold the house, the artwork was freed up from its job "staging" the house.  We both though these prints that Kara gave Herb for his classroom at CCS would be perfect.  The one on the left is a gently-colored Nativity; the one on the right, a stark Crucifixion showing Jesus' scourged back.  I think that too often we Protestants avoid any artwork that represents Jesus, and at the same time we miss poignant reminders of important theological truths.  Jesus was born for us; Jesus died for us.  Let us never forget!

It was too soggy to drive out to the lake, but we walked out to the pond and back to the house, catching this glimpse of daffodils along the way.  The nice thing about Sand Mountain is that its spring is about 2 weeks behind ours, so while our daffodils at home were turning brown, these were in full bloom.

There's always a reminder of the beauty of God's creation at Leahaven.  His mercies are new every day; great is His faithfulness!

A Tale of Two Mountains

After an early ride in the hunting preserve this morning, Herb and I grabbed lunch and headed out in the truck.  It's supposed to get down to 17° for the next couple of nights, and we needed to take some plumbing precautions at the Leahaven and East Brow  houses.  First, we headed up Lookout Mountain on the way to Leahaven.  (Lookout Mountain starts in Tennessee, runs a bit through Georgia near us, and ends up mostly in Alabama.)  Crossing over the top of Lookout Mountain in Georgia, we drove through a winter wonderland where every single branch of every tree was outlined in snow. 

The higher we went, the colder it got, going from 36° at home to 30° at the top of the mountain.  The road hadn't been plowed yet, and we were thankful for four-wheel drive as we drove through half frozen snow.  I had to laugh at the 55 mph speed limit sign!

Far more dangerous than the icy conditions were the idiots on the road-- like this one!  I've heard of walking by faith, but never of driving by faith!

At least this bad driver was off the road!

By now we had come down off Lookout Mountain, gone south on I-59 (where often one lane was obscured by snow despite 36° temperatures), and gone up Sand Mountain, where Leahaven is located, down to 32° temperatures and icy roads.

It took more than the usual hour to get to Leahaven this time, but we arrived safely to find a pristine one-tenth mile of untouched snow between the county road and the house.  Once again, we were thankful for four-wheel drive. 

After turning off the water at the main by the road, we turned on the kitchen faucet to drain the water from all of the pipes.  We turned up the heat a bit, did a few chores, and were ready to head out.

As I looked out across the beautiful snowy field in front of the house, I wished we had the horses there and could go for a ride--but we would never risk getting them there over such icy roads!

Once off Sand Mountain, we returned to a relatively balmy temperature of 36° all the way into Chattanooga until we started up the Tennessee side of Lookout Mountain.  Temperatures quickly dropped to 30° again as we drove through a beautiful frosty landscape.

The road was better here, and we could appreciate the view!

Our East Brow house looks lovely in the snow.  In the nine years we owned it, we never saw it with a snow like this, and we never will again since it will pass to new owners on Jan. 31.  We turned on a bathroom faucet to a trickle--a precaution we learned after several burst pipes.  No matter how well insulated they are, you can never be too safe!

This is one of the last times I'll enjoy this priceless view.  I'll miss it, as I'll miss this wonderful Victorian house--but the looming house across the street (which I cropped from the photo) is one reason I could leave and move to Zephyr Hill Farm.

On the way back home, driving in the valley alongside Lookout Mountain, it was fascinating to see the snow line above which the trees were shrouded in white.

Finally, four hours after we left, we arrived back home to our own priceless view in our own secluded valley with Lookout Mountain just peeking through the trees.  May our little corner of God's amazing creation long remain unspoiled by man.

A Great Way to End the Year (Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010)

For the three weeks that we've been riding daily since Brandy's stifle surgery, she has been step-pacing (taking mincy little steps) instead of doing a "flat walk" or "running walk".  When I ask her to speed up, she just paces faster--a VERY uncomfortable and jolting gait to ride!  She used to do a great flat walk in the field, so my theory is that she's pacing because of the pain.  A horse doing a flat walk really uses its hind legs to drive it forward--and using her hind legs is what this rehab is all about!  My research on how to cure pacing without a bit (since that's how I ride Brandy) or artificial aids suggested riding in snow, sand, or mud to oblige the horse to pick up its feet, thus creating a better gait. So when we heard from Adam and Sarah that there was more snow left at Leahaven than in Chickamauga, we bundled the horses into the trailer and headed to Leahaven the day after they left.

This was only Angel's third visit to Leahaven, and she was very excited. I think she definitely enjoyed the change of scenery after three weeks of riding the same 29 acres at home! And although she was a bit "antsy," she behaved very well and didn't do anything silly.

Zephyr and Hero came along, too, and had a blast. Hero probably ran twice as many miles as the horses did, running ahead, coming back to us, and running on ahead. Sometimes Zephyr got left pretty far behind, but we always caught up to her on the way back!

This was only Brandy's second visit to Leahaven. I don't know if it's the natural horsemanship training she has had or if it's just her personality, but although Angel is 11 and she is only 4, she's extremely laid-back and calm. She was very interested in her surroundings, but not at all "antsy." The only problem she gave me was refusing to cross the stream of running water below the beavers' dam until I got off and led her across--of course getting my feet wet in the process! I made her go back and forth across three times, and that was all it took for her to make the next crossing with me in the saddle.

The nice deep snowdrifts that had blown into ditches and along fencelines were just what the doctor ordered to encourage Brandy to gait; even where there was no snow, the long clumpy grass did the same thing. It didn't take long at all for her to pick up a nice flat walk instead of step-pacing. You can tell by her damp shoulder and neck that she got a good workout! You can also tell how relaxed she is, standing there with her eyes closed!

After we cooled the horses down we turned them into the little enclosure by the barn where there was water and grass to eat, and we went to clean the house for the next guests. As we came out to load the horses up and head home, the sun was setting across the field, a beautiful end to a great day!

Tending Our Other Garden (Friday, Sept. 17)

We spent last night at Leahaven so we could get some work done today.  A family with young children is arriving tomorrow for a week, and we want to be sure they can safely and easily walk around and get out to the lake.  Also, we're bringing the college students from church out next Sunday for a cookout, so we wanted things to be nice for them out at the lake.  It's not a hardship spending the night so you can work when you wake up to a morning like this out the back door . . .

. . . and like this out the front door!

After breakfast, I hung fresh-washed rugs on the clothesline while Herb mowed the lawn (using the push mower).

Next, I tackled the bush-hogging.  It had been quite awhile since we bush-hogged the road, so there was a lot to do.  It takes one pass out and one pass back to clear a nice wide strip so people can see to drive from the gate out to the lake, on beyond the far end of the lake, and up to the "campground" field above the lake.  This is before . . .

. . . and this is after.  I bush-hogged all around the grove of trees near the cabin (at right) as well as right down to the water's edge on both sides of the cabin and around the little peninsula to the right of the cabin.  That way it's easy to get canoe and kayaks into and out of the water.

While I was bush-hogging, Herb was busy working on the inside of the cabin.  He had paneling to put up, but first he had to add studs since Tony had quite random ideas about spacing his studs when he framed the cabin!  Since there's no electricity, Herb had to make trips back to the house to cut a piece of paneling, then come back to nail it up and measure for the next piece.  It's not finished because he ran out of paneling, but he swept everything up, and it looks great for the next couple batches of visitors to enjoy.  (Sorry we didn't have time to get it done for you all, Thompsons!)

When I finished bush-hogging, I went back to clean the house.  One last touch was making the master bed with the new bedspread the Lord provided instead of the mish-mash of throws I was using before.  I found this great "old rose" bedspread in a two-year old LLBean catalog.  When I called to see if they still had it, I found that they do and that  I had almost enough money in LLBean coupons to pay for it--and then a thank-you check arrived from a guest, enough to finish the purchase!  What a joy to see God provide an "extra" blessing--unlooked for and unexpected--for our guests.

As we finished our work and loaded up the truck to head home, I drank in these last views that capture the peaceful ambience of Leahaven.  Wind waving over the long grass in the field . . .

. . . and fall-tinted trees reflected in the lake refresh our spirits after a hard day's work.  May this beautiful corner of God's creation continue to bless His servants who come here to rest.

Enjoying Another Beautiful Corner of God's Creation (Thursday, Sept. 16)

The last people that stayed at Leahaven had a close encounter of the wrong kind with God's creation: one of them stepped barefoot on a hornet that got in the house.  They saw where the hornets seemed to be, so we decided to go spray them.  We wanted to do it in the evening after they came back to the nest, so we headed over there on Thursday afternoon.

First we went out for an early dinner and enjoyed mediocre Mexican food with excellent country karaoke!  Then we bought wasp spray and headed back to do battle.

After spraying the offending nests, we drove the truck out to the stock pond and sat in the bed to see if we could see the beavers.  We didn't see them, but we enjoyed a beautiful evening with birds singing, bats zooming overhead devouring mosquitos, and frogs plopping into the pond. 

The sky was doubly beautiful, as we enjoyed its reflection in the water.  It seems quite appropriate that my Sunday school lesson, about the 6th commandment, used the image of our reflection in a pond to explain to the children about us being made in God's image!

It got darker until we could hardly see the water, and Herb touched my arm and breathed, "Look!"  I looked beyond him, and there was a possum about 10 feet away.  It was so dark my camera wouldn't even focus until I turned it on "Auto," bringing the flash into play.  The anti-red-eye pre-flash seemed to mesmerize the possum, so he sat nice and still for two pictures!

I "enhanced" this one so you can see him better.  I just love possums!  When we got back to the house, I read through a children's book about opossums.  Did you know that they are the mammal with most teeth per mouth space?  And they are the only North American marsupial.  They usually have up to 16 babies, but the mother only has 13 nipples.  After birth each baby (which looks like an embryo!) finds its way to a nipple, latches on, and doesn't let go till it's ready to leave the pouch.  Only the first 13 survive.  Isn't that sad?

Our evening in the country ended with a light show as the half moon (its glow makes it look full) sailed in and out of the clouds.  Yes, I know the clouds really sailed past the moon, but that's not what it looked like!

What a truly delightful evening!  I guess we owe those hornets!